My Trials and Tribulations Mariemaia's Story
by Queen-of-Theives07
Summary: its the begining of the civil war. the kushrendads have a plantation in the south. this is mariemaia's story. note: some characters last names have been changed and some probably arent spelled right. relena bashin, sorf of


Disclaimer- QoT07 does not own Gundam Wing.

My Trials and Tribulations

Mariemaia's Story

I looked out the window as the car and moving van came down the drive. I sighed. Another family moving into my house. You'd think I'd be used to it by now, I mean its been 140 years since I died.

Oh my, this couple has a daughter. I watch as the girl, 11 to 13 years old, bounds up to the house calling something out to her parents.

I walk out into the hall and pause near the stairwell. "Its so big!" I could hear the girl and her parents talking downstairs.

"Of course it is. It's a plantation. Still the same size as it was during the Civil War." Ah, yes, the Civil War, the beginning of my adult life and also the end of it.

"Darling, don't you think it's a bit too big for us?"

"No. Hilde, run upstairs and pick out your room, then we'll go eat."

Ah, so that's what her name is. She came running up the stairs and started opening doors, her blonde curls bouncing and her blue eyes sparkling. She squealed when she opened the door to my room. I've occupied that room since I turned 8. It's a fairly large room. The walls are covered in flowered blue wallpaper. There's a cherry wood canopy bed with a blue bedspread and a blue canopy. The rugs are blue with silver and gold decorations. The two windows have sheer inner curtains and blue and silver outer curtains. The window seat is Prussian blue and the royal blue pillows that sit on it are trimmed with silvers and golds. The couch and two chairs that make up the sitting area are made of cherry wood and are covered in a cream fabric. The table between the two chairs is made of cherry wood and marble. The wardrobe, vanity, and writing desk are also made of cherry wood. The vanity stool is covered with a heavy blue material. My favorite color is blue, so most everything in my room is blue. In a way I'm glad she chose my room, maybe now I'll have someone to talk to.

As it is approaching dinnertime my new roommates, although they don't know about me yet, went into town for dinner. Once again I was left alone.

I open the curtains in mine and Hilde's room letting the morning sunlight in. I sit on the window seat to think about what I'd learned about the Shlidbecker's. They appear to be a nice family, a perfect one, almost too perfect. Mr. Shlidbecker is a banker, which explains why they could afford to buy Solace, my plantation. I laugh, after all these years I still think of it as my plantation. Mrs. Shlidbecker is a sweet woman. She's a stay at home mom, and Hilde is the sweetest 11-year-old I've ever met. It makes me wonder where the bad apple in their family is.

Hilde is beginning to stir, so I think it is best if I go out to the gazebo and plan a way to meet her that won't scare her.

I walk down the gravel path to the gazebo. I stop to look at it. It's in a dire need of repair. The wood is rotted, the white paint is peeling, the roof is almost gone and the vines that once covered it are now running wild about it. Although it is falling apart it is still one of my favorite places to go when I need to think. It's so peaceful and beautiful. The once new gazebo rests on a small hill overlooking the garden.

Since it is fall the flowers are no longer in bloom, making Solace have a gloomy feel about it. If you stop in the drive you can get a wonderful look at the mansion. It has been kept in excellent condition. It even still houses the original furniture my great-grandfather put in there. Off to the left side you can barely see the gazebo. Although the yard, garden, stables, gazebo and cemetery are not in very good condition Solace is still a beautiful place.

I look over in the direction of the cemetery. You can't see it from the drive. I haven't visited it since I went to my own funeral. It's one of the most shocking things, seeing your body in a casket and being lowered into the ground. It shocked me so much that I haven't returned to the cemetery, not even to pay my respects to my parents.

Apparently some amount of time has passed as Hilde is skipping down the path, probably going to explore the 500 acres that make up Solace. It causes me to smile, something I haven't done often for a very long time. I think I shall use this opportunity to meet her.

I watch her as she walks around the statue in the center of the garden. It is a grand one. By grand I mean it is beautiful. It isn't very large, but it isn't small either. It has a cherub standing on a small base pouring a jar of water into a pool, well it would if water flowed out of the jar and there was a pool. Still it is a nice statue.

I follow Hilde into the cemetery, which is to the right and back a ways from the great house. It is in a sad state. The small cast iron fence that surrounds the cemetery was once black, now the paint is almost gone and the metal is rusted. The headstones are simple ones, like the kind soldiers get. They are covered in piles of dead leaves and twigs. The trees that surround it are old and covered in Spanish moss, giving it a sense of respectful beauty. It is a small family plot, probably no more than twenty people buried here, including myself. The soldiers that I cared for and became good friends with buried me next to my mother.

I watch as Hilde goes around dusting leaves and twigs off of tombstones and reading the names of the deceased and the year they died. She made her way down the third and last row. As she bends down to dust off the last stone I made myself visible and softly said "Mariemaia Kushrenada, September 14, 1864." It was easy to tell I had startled her. She turns around, blue eyes wide and full of fear.

"Who are you?" I smile again.

"My name is Mariemaia Kushrenada," I stopped a moment to straighten my skirts, "when I was alive this was my home."

"You're a ghost?" I resist the urge to laugh, but I let myself smile.

"Yes," I raise one hand, palm facing her, "but I mean you no harm." She looked confused.

"But aren't ghosts supposed to haunt houses and scare people?"

I want to laugh again, "Some do. I haunt Solace, but I have no desire to hurt anyone."

"Solace?" Apparently she doesn't know what her home had been called in its glory days.

"That is what this plantation was called before, during and for a while after the Civil War."

"Oh. Who are these people?" She motioned with her hand towards the other stones. I move away from my grave and silently wander around for a minute. I can feel her eyes on me. When I finally respond that it is my family, except my sister who is buried with her husband and my older brother who is buried somewhere near Gettysburgh. She appears shocked.

"Why haven't you kept this place in better shape?"

"It is fairly traumatizing to see your body laid to rest. This is the first time since my funeral that I've been here."

"It scared you that much?"

I look up at her. "No. It broke my heart. People don't normally watch their own funerals. Mine was beautiful and full of love. It touched me that people that I had known for less than a year could care for me that much. I wanted to keep that image of them in my mind."

She began to look excited. "You can show me around, and …and later we can clean it up!"

This time I let myself laugh. I tell her I will show her Solace. We leave the cemetery and head toward the stables. I'm going to give her a tour she will never forget. I'm going to give her an insight to my life before the war.

The tour didn't take long, as the only places left to see were the gazebo, stables and house. The stables are large but she was as interested in them as I am. I love horses, but I don't like the looks and smells of an empty stable. Solace's stables have been empty for many a long year. She likes the gazebo. The house took the longest. I took her through all the rooms. Emily likes the library and gallery. She was ecstatic when I told her that her room had been mine.

By the time the tour was over and Hilde had eaten it was around 2:30 and we found ourselves back in the cemetery with rakes, plastic bags and trashcans. We each have half of the cemetery to rake. I know it will take us a long time to clean it up, no one has cleaned it up in years. As I bend down to pick up some sticks that are too big to rake up I notice that Hilde has stopped working. "Something wrong?" I ask her after I straighten up."I…I was wondering….if you…could maybe…tell me how you died." I tense up a bit. Its not that I mind telling her, it's more that I haven't had anyone to talk to about it before.

She rushed on, "If you don't want to talk about it I understand, I was just wondering how someone so young could die." With that I hush her and agree to tell her about it. That it will be a bedtime story.We filled about 5 bags before dinner. After dinner Hilde took her bath and we retired to our room. I to the window seat and she to the bed. I tell her this:

"Miss Mariemaia! Miss Mariemaia!" The young girl turned as a house slave ran into the room. It was about 8 o'clock in the morning on a summer day in 1862.

"Miss Mariemaia, if you don't hurry you'll miss your pa and Mister Treize."

"Hush Noin. I'm coming." The red-head said softly, she had always been a quiet girl. She smiled at Noin, but the older woman could see the worry in the 16 year old's violet eyes.

"Go now, your ma needs you." Mariemaia's skirts swished as she hugged Noin and walked gracefully out of the room.

Mariemaia joined her mother and older sister on the brick drive to send off her brother and father.

She exclaimed, "Oh, I wish you did not have to go!" for she did not want to be left with Relena, the elder of the two Kushrenada girls. Treize, the only boy, was twenty and heading off to join in the fighting with his father, on the Confederate side of course.

Relena isn't the nicest of all girls. She is a pretty one, but is mean, selfish and has no consideration for others. Thankfully she is to be married soon. Mariemaia felt sorry for Heero, her sister's fiancé, though. Heero is such a nice man, considerate, kind and respectful.

After all good-byes had been said the remaining Kushrenadas went back inside the mansion.

"But mama, Dorothy and Quatre live with her parents. Why can't Heero and I live here?"

Mrs. Kushrenada set her sewing down, looking annoyed for she and Relena had been over this before. "'Lena, the house will go to Treize if Mr. Kushrenada dies. If both the Kushrenada men die then Solace will go to Maia.

"The only reason Dorothy and Quatre live with the Catalonias is because there is no room in Trabecca for Dorothy. Under normal circumstances they would be at Trabecca. Your place is with your husband's family at his plantation."

"Mama, these aren't normal circumstances! We're in the midst of a war! You would feel safer if there was a man around. The Yankees…" Mrs. Kushrenada cut her off.

"I don't want to hear about the Yankees. There are men here. This matter is settled, two weeks from now you will marry Heero and move to Seven Oaks." Mrs. Kusrenada got up and walked out the parlor door, almost running into Maia. She put her hands on her youngest's shoulders.

"Maia, I'm sorry. 'Lena has managed to put me into a state." Mariemaia didn't say anything. She just led her mother away from the parlor and looked back over her shoulder at the door leading to the parlor, smoldering growing anger at her elder sister.

After leaving her mother in her mother's room she went to find Aunt Une. Aunt Une wasn't really their aunt. She had been Mrs. Kushrenada's nanny and had nursed the three Kushrenada children. Mariemaia knew she could find Aunt Une in one of three places, in Relena's room, the kitchen or in one of the shanties that housed the slaves. Mariemaia was right about where she'd find Aunt Une. She found the nanny in the kitchen.

"Aunt Mariemaia, mama needs some 'tea', 'Lena's put her in one of her states." The tea was actually a mixture of hot water, lemon juice and brandy. The mixture helped calm Mrs. Kushrenada's nerves. She didn't need the concoction as much as she had in the past when Treize was younger, but Relena was trying her patience and today was not the best day to do that. Mrs. Kushrenada is a determined woman. She is also a brave one. Relena wanted Solace and would try anything to get it. The plantation was Treize's by right, and if he died it would be Maia's. Mrs. Kushrenada would do anything to keep Relena from getting it. She could only hope that Treize and Maia loved Solace as much as she.

The weeks went by rather quickly. Everyone was getting ready for the upcoming wedding. Even the youngest slaves had things to do. Mariemaia was in town with her sister and mother waiting for Relena to try on her wedding dress. Relena had refused to wear her mother's dress, claiming that it was out of date. Mariemaia was glad for that, she wanted to wear her mother's dress and if Relena had chosen to wear it, she wouldn't be able to. It wasn't an unsuspected surprise to Mrs. Kushrenada that Relena wouldn't want her dress. The girl only wanted new and stylish things. 'The new dress is going to be expensive, thankfully the Yuys are paying for it' thought Mrs. Kushrenada. The financial situation at Solace wasn't as bad as it was at other plantations, but that was because the other plantation wives did not realize that the war could last longer than expected and were not preventing their daughters and sons from buying needless things.

Mariemaia sighed and looked at the door to the fitting room in the tailor's shop. Relena had been in there for over an hour. How long did it take to try on a dress and decide if it was the way you wanted it? For Mariemaia it takes less than 15 minutes, but apparently it takes over an hour for Relena.

Finally Relena emerged from the dressing room, not wearing her wedding dress.

"How does it fit dear?" Mrs. Kushrenada was getting tired and was ready to get home.

"Its not the way I want it but its too late to have it fixed, I'm getting married tomorrow after all." Relena sneered the words, Mariemaia could tell that she'd taken her jolly old time strictly to get her mother to the point of doing most anything to get home. Mariemaia was beginning to wonder why Relena would do a thing like that. There wasn't anything that she could think of that Relena wanted, but didn't have. The thought that Solace could one day be hers never crossed her mind, or the one that Relena wanted Solace.Sure enough on the ride home Relena confronted her mother on the matter of who Solace should go to if Treize should die. She didn't think that Maia didn't know that she could inherit Solace, but Relena didn't dwell on it long.

"Mama, I still don't see why Maia should get Solace, I'm older than she is and more experienced in certain things." Until this point Mariemaia hadn't been interested in the conversation and now perked up. Solace would be hers one day? Mrs. OKushrenada on the other hand was appalled.

"Better at certain things! Like catching the eye of every man? Respectable and other wise? You may be older than Maia, but in no way are you better than her for running Solace." Both the women had forgotten that Mariemaia was with them. Sitting not 4 inches away. Mrs. Kushrenada went on, "Relena, I have taught all my children how to be respectable, care for others and put others before themselves. I would have considered it a wonderful achievement if all three of you had turned out as a gentleman or as ladies. But as it is I have a gentleman and a lady. That lady is Mariemaia. In today's terms a lady is someone that has nice clothes, a grand carriage, a pretty face and manners. You have all of those, yes, but you never use your manners as Mariemaia does. Mariemaia is a lady by the way she treats others, her manners, her continuous calm and steady hand. I wish your father had agreed with me to send you to that finishing school in Atlanta." With that Mrs. Kushrenada got out of the carriage, which had stopped in front of the great house, and went inside. Mariemaia was close at her mother's heels. Relena was too stunned at what her mother had said to move for a few minutes. 'She didn't even let me explain myself. I can't help it if men think I'm attractive.' Relena wanted to go in and confront her mother again, but as soon as she stepped down from the carriage she realized how tired she was.

Mrs. Kushrenada and Mariemaia were in the sitting room. "Mama, is it true that if Treize dies I will inherit Solace?"

"If anything happened to Treize I was going to tell you, but as 'Lena has spouted it already you may as well know. Yes, if your brother dies Solace will be yours." Mrs. Kushrenada was sitting on a chair by the window. Sighing she asked Mariemaia to leave her alone for a while.Mariemaia did as her mother bid and left her alone. She went to her own room to get ready for bed. She sat on her vanity stool and looked in her mirror. She knew she was pretty, but she sure didn't feel it when her sister was around. She had only one beau, and that was their distant cousin Duo Maxwell. 'He's nice enough, I suppose. But he's more fitted for Relena than he is for me and I feel nothing for him. He'll probably propose tomorrow. I don't know what to do. I wish I could talk to mama or Aunt Une. That's what I'll do, I'll talk to Aunt Une.' Even though her hair was hanging down around her shoulders she went in search of Aunt Une. When she found Une she explained her dilemma.

"Girl, you do what your heart tells you to. Duo is a fine man, but I never liked him much. You deserve to love and be loved." Une had never been afraid to speak her mind around Mariemaia. Mariemaia usually consulted both her mother and Aunt Une, but her mama seemed to have a lot on her mind right now.Mariemaia sat up and went over to the window. Morning had come; it was a day that she dreaded. Her sister's wedding. It was to be an all day party. Sighing, she rang the bell for a slave to come and lace her corset and help her with her morning dress. She really hated these parties. 'What's the point in wearing three different dresses in one day?' She wondered. I stop my story there. "I think that's enough for tonight. I will continue with it tomorrow. Get some sleep, I'll be here in the morning" I turn off the light and sit on the window seat until Hilde falls asleep. After she falls asleep I go to the library and pick up a book, it's going to be a long night. Ugh, I've already read this book. Shakespeare. One can get really bored from reading his works. Some of them are good, like his sonnets. The plays aren't all that great. Take "Romeo and Juliet" for instance. They could have just gone to the prince for help. But then again, there wouldn't have been a story if they had done that. But that's not the point. The point is it would have been smarter to go to the prince.

I put the book away and pulled Huckleberry Finn off the shelf. I've read part of it before, but not much. It should get me through the night.

By the next morning I was back in Hilde's room, pulling the curtains open to let in the sunlight. This time I stay in the room when Hilde begins to stir. "Good morning."

She yawns, "Morning."

After Hilde ate her waffles we went back out to the cemetery. She seems to be determined to get the place cleaned up. You know how people can be reincarnated? I'm beginning to think that Hilde is my reincarnation. She has a lot of the same qualities that I had. If that is true then she should be able to fill in some of the blanks that I plan to leave out of my story. If I tell her all of those three years it would take forever.We spent the better part of the day cleaning up the cemetery. We encountered a cottonmouth snake, which I gladly let it bite me. I have always wanted to be bitten by a snake, so when the chance comes along nowadays, I let them bite me. We got a lot done. Now we have only about half of the cemetery to clean. It really is looking better. I wish I had thought of doing this before. After it is completely cleaned up I think I'll plant some roses along the fence.

We spent the latter part of the afternoon in the basement looking for paint for the fence. We couldn't find any so we decide to go to the library and sit until dinner. Hilde looks like she's starting to get bored so I think I'll continue on with my story.After getting laced up and putting on her morning dress Mariemaia went down to the dining room for breakfast with her mother. Relena had already said she would eat in her room in the morning. After breakfast the guests would start arriving for the all day party.

The morning went smoothly for Mariemaia. No unwanted proposals, Relena wasn't bothering her, actually no one was bothering her. It was soon time for the ladies to retire upstairs for a short nap and to change for the wedding. The ladies' dresses were stunning and the gentlemen were dressed in their best suits. Relena was the most stunning girl there of course, but that was because it was her day and there is an unwritten rule that says no one can be prettier than the bride.

The wedding went as most do, beautifully, teary and without a hitch. The reception party was nice, everyone danced and had a good time. Well, everyone except Mariemaia, that is. Duo had started to follow her around, waiting on her hand and foot. It was annoying her. She walked out onto the porch and sat on the porch swing. Duo followed her and sat on a stool at her feet.

"Mariemaia, darling, will you marry me?" The question was not unexpected. Mariemaia, thankfully, had been able to talk to her mother earlier that morning, had an answer ready.

"No."

"Why not?"

"I am not ready for a husband and I have no feelings what so ever for you."

"We can have a long engagement. And that does not matter. I can take care of you. Give you a home."

"It matters to me. And I have a home."

"You mean you have your brother's home."

"Nothing you can say will make me marry you." With that Mariemaia stormed off as gracefully as a lady could. When she got to her room she felt an odd tightening in her chest. Like someone was gripping her heart. The feeling passed quickly and she dismissed it from her mind. The party would end soon and Relena and Heero would leave for their honeymoon. Thankfully she was not required to say good-bye to her sister.

Duo was still sitting on the porch. 'What a woman. She is a determined one. Probably as determined as I am stubborn. One day she will be my wife and she knows it.'

Later that night, after all the guests had gone home Mrs. Kushrenada sorted through the mail and telegrams that had come in the past few days, she still had yet to read them. There was only one thing that caught her eye. It was a telegram from Tennessee. 'Who do we know that's in Tennessee?' She wondered. After she opened the telegram she gasped and fainted. If Noin had not decided to check in on Mrs. Kushrenada no one would have found her until morning.

Mariemaia stood by her mother's bed and kept looking from the telegram to the window to her mother.

"Miss, what does it say?" Aunt Une was worried about her mistress and wanted to know what had caused her to fall ill. The doctor had been sent for.

"Papa's dead. He died in the battle at Shiloh." Mariemaia choked on a sob as she told Kissie.

"Oh, little miss come here." Une pulled the distraught girl into her arms.

Life went on at Solace, it differed little from what it had been, other than a closer eye was kept on Mrs. Kushrenada. The Doctor had deemed her unfit to operate the plantation, so it was now under the careful guidance of Mariemaia.

Once again I stop my story. It is nearing dinnertime and Hilde still has to get ready for it. Her grandparents are coming to see the house. I hope they like it. It has been like my child I suppose, and I want everyone to approve of it. When Hilde goes down to the dining room, I go out to the dock. There is a river that borders Solace and what used to be Trabecca. I used to come here and play. For now I just sit on the dock with my feet in the water and skirts in my lap. There is wisteria growing on the opposite bank and around the dock. It is beautiful, some say that wisteria is a nuisance, but I think that it's beautiful. The river is shallow and not very wide. It makes a nice, calming rippling noise. I did not bring Emily here because the wood is rotted to the point that if a live being put weight on it the wood would break. I did not want her to get hurt. I have seen children fall through the wood and get hurt. I have also had to pull them out of the river to prevent them from drowning because they've hit their heads. That's how most of the families that have lived at Solace have found out about me, I've saved their children. I think they felt threatened by me. I need to tell Mr. Shlidebecker about the dock, but I am not sure how to approach him. It needs to be done soon though. Hilde should be able to have fun down here. Voices are approaching so I make myself invisible.

"I didn't know this was here." Hilde stopped at the end of the dock, her parents and grandparents not far behind her. I cover my mouth with my hand, if Hilde takes anymore steps she'll fall through the dock and hit her head on the rocks. She continues walking forward, I move towards her to be able to reach her if she does fall. She's almost to the end of the dock, thankfully she's not moving very fast, but it still worries me, I know I said the river was shallow, but it is still deep enough for someone to drown in. CRACK! The wood collapses under her weight. As I run to her aid I make myself visible and solid so I can touch her. I don't reach her in time to prevent her from hitting her head on the rocks, but I can prevent her from drowning. Calling out to her family not to come on the dock, that its rotted out I pull Hilde onto the dock. She's still breathing, barely but she is breathing. I pick her up and take her to her father. He takes her from me and tells her mom to call an ambulance, and fast. Her grandparents just stand and look at me dumbly. I want to slap them, but instead run after Mr. and Mrs. Shlidebecker. Oh, how I wish Duo was here. I need him now. I've become attached to her, like she was my own daughter.

A few days have passed. No word about Hilde. The phone starts to ring. Should I answer it? I feel compelled to so I do. "Hello?"

"Who is this?" I recognized Mrs. Shlidebeckers voice. I hesitate to answer.

"Mariemaia Kushrenada"

"You're the girl who pulled my daughter out of the river, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"Thank you. How did you get on to the dock anyway, not to mention get off of it without going through it?"

Again I hesitate. "I'm a ghost. I lived here before and during the Civil War."

"Oh, well, again thank you. Hilde won't be coming home, she died an hour ago."

After I get off the phone with Mrs. Shlidebecker I make a quick decision and go to the basement. I find what I'm looking for. It's a gas lamp. One that hasn't been used in ages. I hope it still works. I head out to the cemetery and set the lamp down on a headstone. It isn't dark yet, but it will be soon and I am determined to get this cemetery cleaned up for Hilde. She won't be buried here, but it's the least I can do. I work for about an hour. I stop working and look at the setting sun. I can feel tears running down my face. I lean against the tree, sobbing. I don't belong here. I belong with my fiancé, but he is dead and as far as I know he is not a ghost. The tears keep coming for a long time. I slowly sink to the ground and rest my head on my knees. I think about the last two years of my life.

On May 3, 1863, Treize was killed and Mrs. Kushrenada lost her mind. She wasn't insane, she was a shell on earth and no longer had a reason to live. Solace now legally belonged to Mariemaia, who ran it with a steady and gentle, but firm, hand. Duo was still determined to marry Melody, who was slowly beginning to weaken in her resolve. Relena was a mother now, but having a baby did nothing to weaken her resolve that Solace would one day be hers.

Wounded soldiers were coming to Solace asking for food and water. Some had wounded comrades. Melody took pity on them and took them in, nursing them back to health. Most were Yankee soldiers, but to her they were wounded men that needed help.

"Mariemaia, nursing soldiers is one thing, but Yankee soldiers? That's a completely different thing. Aunt Une, tell her." Relena was looking out for her own reputation as usual.

"I stand by my mistress. She knows what's she's doing. And it's the right thing."

"Right thing my foot." Mariemaia was beginning to get tired of her sister's ranting.

"Relena, get out of my house. Now." Mariemaia pointed towards the door. When Relena didn't move Mariemaia grabbed the rifle that hung over the fireplace and pointed it at her sister.

"You heard me, get out."

"You'll see me again Mariemaia Kushrenada." Relena stormed out of the house in a swirl of skirts, Mariemaia's gun following her. When Relena was out of sight Mariemaia lowered the gun.

"I'll be ready."

Duo had no qualms about his love nursing soldiers, He had a feeling that the Confederacy would fall and it would be best for her if she nursed Union soldiers, maybe the Yankees would be more friendly towards her. He admired her for doing it, too.

He and Mariemaia were sitting on the porch swing at Solace talking of the war.

"Duo, I'm running out of medical supplies again and there isn't any in town. I don't know what to do." She sighed and crossed her arms across her chest.

Patting her arm reassuringly He replied "You'll think of something. But its getting late and I need to get home." He got up and walked to the edge of the porch before looking back at her and saying goodnight.

Mariemaia stayed on the porch for a few more minutes before getting up and going back inside. She hated to admit it, but she was really beginning to like Duo. No time to dwell on that, she had patients to tend to.

The months past, soldiers came and went, medical supplies were harder to find than ever, the confederacy was falling and Relena wasn't giving up on her campaign to get the house from Mariemaia. Things were beginning to take their toll on Mariemaia. She wasn't getting enough sleep and was losing weight. A select few soldiers stayed at Solace to help care for the place and to help take some of the load off of Mariemaia. These few soldiers would become some of Mariemaia's closest friends. In February 1864 Duo proposed to Mariemaia again. Mariemaia didn't give him an answer right away; she told him she would think about it. She could no longer talk to Aunt Une as the beloved nanny had passed on at Christmas and her mother was still an empty shell. So she instead consulted in the soldiers that had become her close friends.

"Miss Maia, you should just follow your heart." Trowa, the youngest of the bunch told her. It astonished her at how a boy younger than she could be as wise as her mother had been. The rest just nodded their heads in agreement. She decided that she would marry Duo and told him so the next day when he came to call. They would be married as soon as the war was over.

The next week Mariemaia ran out of bandages and started ripping up petticoats, dresses, curtains, sheets and anything else that could be used as bandages. She had long ago ran out of whiskey to numb the soldiers pain and any form of medication. She no longer paid attention to how the war was going, she knew the confederacy would fall and there was nothing that could be done to prevent it.

One in mid-September Mariemaia was in the back yard ripping up the curtains from the dining room to use as bandages when she spotted Relena coming around the corner of the house. "Can I help you?"

"Mariemaia, you're fighting a losing war here. There is no way you can save these men so why try?"

"I try because it's the right thing to do. And the only losing war I see is the one against the Union. The confederacy is losing. Life as we know it is over. Plantations will fall and freemen will reside in courthouses and have government positions."

"How dare you say such a thing! The confederacy can't fall, it won't!"

"You know it can and it will. Stop putting your beliefs in something false."

"Stop it!" Relena looked like she was about to cry, she hated it when her sister was right. But Mariemaia kept on, she was mad and wanted her sister to know it.

"The confederacy was going to fall from the beginning, it never stood a chance. Every one knew it but didn't want to believe it." Both women were mad now and looked ready to kill. "You most of all didn't want to believe it. You wanted…"

"Stop it!" Relena had now pulled her gun out of her handbag and pointed it at Mariemaia.

"Go ahead, kill me. But it won't change anything. The confederacy will still fall. Harder times will still come. You can't do anything to stop it." Relena snorted, narrowed her eyes, but Mariemaia continued, "It will happen. You won't even get Solace when if you kill me, it will go to Duo." CRACK! The gun went off. Mariemaia fell to the ground, clutching her stomach.

Gasping for breath Mariemaia responded, "Are you so desperate you would kill your own sister?"

Relena, glowering at her younger sister, "I've never liked you, you and your goody-little-two shoes act. Helping soldiers, most of them not even ours. You're a disgrace to this family."

"No more than you are. At least I didn't use Father's money to buy blockaded goods."

"Miss Maia!" Noin ran out of the great house to Mariemaia. "You've been shot, let me take care of that for you."

"Where's Duo?"

"In the stables, with my boy."

"Get him for me please."

Relena had hoped that shooting her younger sister would solve some of her problems, but Mariemaia was right, Solace would go to Duo. Relena had hoped that she would get Solace so she could sell it and get the money to support her and her husband. She turned around and left thinking 'I have no more to do here.' She was beginning to regret shooting Mariemaia.

"Maia!"

All Mariemaia could do was look at Duo as he held her in his arms. She then realized that she had never told him that she loved him. She tried to tell him, but she couldn't get the words out. She died seconds later in her beloved's arms.

'I wonder what Duo would do if he saw me sitting here.' I start to laugh. 'That's in the past, of course that's where I should be too. It's Duo's fault I'm still here anyway.'

That's the thing with ghosts, if someone thinks about a loved deceased person before they die, the other person stays in the world as a ghost, or rather, as a memory.


End file.
